VOA新闻杂志2022--More Americans Turn Classic Cars into Electric Cars

A growing number of Americans are turning gas-powered vehicles into electric ones by using a process called an electric powertrain conversion¹.

Such conversions² are becoming more popular as battery technology gets better and the world turns toward cleaner energy sources.

EVs and classic cars

Kevin Erickson owns a 1972 Plymouth Satellite that he renamed "Electrollite" after conversion. Now, the car can go from a still position to 97 kilometers per hour in about three seconds. Its top speed is almost 250 kilometers per hour.

At the end of 2019, Erickson bought the car for $6,500. He then began a year-and-a-half-long project to convert the car to electric. He used battery packs, a motor and parts from a Tesla Model S that had been in a crash.

"This was my way of taking the car that I like — my favorite body — and then taking the modern technology and performance, and mixing them together," said Erickson, who has put about $60,000 into the project.

Jonathan Klinger is vice³ president of car culture for Hagerty Insurance. He said converting classic cars into EVs is "definitely a trend," although research on the activity is limited.

In May, the Michigan-based company did a web-based study of about 25,000 automobile⁴ lovers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

About one percent had at least partly converted an older model car to run on some form of electric power.

The top three reasons for converting the vehicles were for better performance, for a fun project, and because of environmental concerns. About 25 percent of respondents said they approve of older automobiles⁵ being partly or fully⁶ converted to electric vehicles.

Klinger, who owns several vintage vehicles, said he does not think electric motors will replace all gas engines — especially when considering historically important vehicles.

"There's something satisfying about having a vintage car that has a carburetor," he said, because it's the same as when the car was new. Some car lovers want to keep the sound of older cars' original engines.

Difficulties and the future

Electric conversions require special knowledge to complete. They also involve safety concerns and parts that are sometimes hard to find.

And then there is the price.

Sean Moudry, who co-owns Inspire EV, a small conversion business near Denver, recently worked on a 1965 Ford⁷ Mustang. The year-and-a-half-long project cost more than $100,000 and involved many difficulties.

Moudry and his partners replaced the gas engine with a motor from a crashed Tesla Model S. They also added 16 Tesla battery packs weighing a total of about 363 kilograms.

Most older cars, including the Mustang, were not designed to have that much weight or the increased performance of a powerful electric motor. So, the team had to make changes to other parts of the car, including the suspension system.

Moudry says many people do not have the resources necessary to carry out this kind of project. As a result, he says, it will take a while for electric conversions to become common.

"I think it's going to be 20 years," he said. "It's going to be a 20-year run before you go to a car show and 50 to 60 percent of the cars are running some variant⁸ of an electric motor in it."

But that reality could be coming sooner than expected, says Mike Spagnola, president and CEO of the Specialty⁹ Equipment Market Association (SEMA), a trade group.

He said that electric vehicle products took about 1950 square meters of marketing¹⁰ space at SEMA's yearly show in Las Vegas this fall. That was up from only 232 square meters at the 2021 show.

Words in This Story

battery – n. an electric cell or connected electric cells for providing electric current

trend – n. a general direction of change : a way of behaving, proceeding¹¹, etc., that is developing and becoming more common

vintage –adj. — used to describe something that is not new but that is valued because of its good condition, attractive design, etc.

carburetor – n. the part of an engine in which gasoline is mixed with air so it will burn and provide the engine with power

variant – n. different in some way from others of the same kind 

1 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

2 conversions   

变换( conversion的名词复数 )； （宗教、信仰等）彻底改变； （尤指为居住而）改建的房屋； 橄榄球（触地得分后再把球射中球门的）附加得分

参考例句：

• He kicked a penalty goal and two conversions, ie in Rugby football. 他一次罚球得分，两次触地后射门得分（在橄榄球赛中）。
• Few of the intermediates or enzymes involved in these conversions have been isolated from higher plants. 在这些转变中包含的少数中间产物或酶已经从高等植物中分离出来。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

5 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

8 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

9 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

10 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

11 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。